ANOTHER ATTEMPT TO ban texting while driving is working its way through the Alabama Legislature, and this year lawmakers should pass it.

With evidence mounting that sending text messages through cell phones and other handheld devices is dangerously distracting for drivers, a strong argument can made for discouraging the practice by threatening drivers with fines.

This year’s version of the bill specifies that, in addition to sending texts, reading texts while driving also would be a transgression. A study released last fall by the Texas Transportation Institute at Texas A&M University (http://tti.tamu.edu) found that drivers were about as likely to be distracted by reading a text as by sending it.

Forty-two drivers were asked to take on a course of open areas and of barrels, and to react to periodic flashing lights. The conclusion: Reaction time to the flashing light was usually between one and two seconds when the driver wasn’t texting, but grew to at least three to four seconds when the driver was texting and driving.

"Principally, when reading or writing texts, drivers exhibited reductions in reaction time that were nearly twice as great as previously thought," the study said. "Drivers also exhibited nearly identical impairment in the reading and writing conditions, suggesting that both reading and writing text messages may be equally dangerous."

The findings may also have implications for emailing and being on Facebook while driving, the researchers said.

Thirty-five states prohibit texting while driving. Alabama bans texting only for novice drivers — those ages 16 and 17 who have an intermediate license of less than six months.

In the absence of a strong state law, many municipalities — including Fairhope, Daphne and Spanish Fort — have local ordinances against the practice.

Texting while driving is indisputably dangerous. A study by the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute showed that drivers who text behind the wheel have a collision risk 23 times greater than drivers who aren’t texting.

It’s time for Alabama to join the other states that ban this unsafe practice.